Fireproof floor construction.



PATBNTED 00T. 13, 190s,

B. MERRIGK. FIREPROOP FLGE CONSTRUCTION,

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 18, 1902.

N0 MODEL.

,Rm l ma. m M E WH'N ESSES ATTGRNEY layer,

Nrrnn STATES Yatented October 13, 1903.

ERNEST MERRICK, OF ELZABETH, NEW JERSEY.

EEES FIGA'ION forming part of Letters Patent No. 741,054, dated October 13, 1903.

Application filed June 18, 1902. Serial No. 112,24@ (No model.)

To @ZZ izo/hom. t nto/,1; concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST MERRIOK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Elizabeth, in the county of Union and State of New J ersey, have invented a new and useful Fireproof Floor Construction, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates generally to floors of buildings, and specifically to reproof ioor constructions.

Heretofore it has been common to build a temporary floor below the beams land to lay thereon and from beam to beam previouslyformed cellular bricks or blocks with'slanting surfaces and, nally, a keystone in the center to form a fireproof arch construction. From my experience as engineer and contractor for laying this class of floor I have noticed objections which it is my aim to overcome. One of the chief objections is the lack of rigidity, and therefore of strength, between the loose cellular blocks, and especially between these blocks and the I-beams or other forms of beams that may b e employed. With the less weight of floor I am able to maintain equal strength. Besides, I gain rapidity in laying the floor and greater durability thereof and insure indefinite preservation of the steel or other metallic beams from rust.

The general nature'of the organization and process comprising the invention consists of beams of iron, steel, wood, or any other substance extending, spaced apart, from girder to girder or from wall to wall and Lshaped or T-shaped or any other shape usually found suitable in this class of floors.

The first step of the process consists, as in older processes, in forming a temporary door under the beams, but in my case preferably not flush with the lower surfaces ofthe beams, but an inch or two below, then forming a layer of fireproof material consisting of unhardened concrete upon the temporary center or floor or platform and leveling off said layer to the desired thickness and before hardening placing forms or hollow cores, preferably arc or arch-shaped without bases, upon the concrete the depth of the hollow cores being less than the distance from the top of the concrete layer to the top of the beams, and finally placing soft or freshly-made cement or concrete directly upon and around and filling all the spaces between the cores and the beams and extending and forming a continuous layer above the cores iiush with the tops of the beams.

Gare should be taken that the concrete while still soft is pressed closely and evenly against the sides and lower surfaces of Ithe I-beams and against and between the cores, which are conveniently constructed of galvanized wire or sheet-'lathing with meshes small enough to prevent the concrete from falling through.

The invention in all its details will now be described by reference to the drawings.

Figure l is a plan of a portion of a door with some parts partly broken away. Fig. 2 is asection perpendicular to the beams. Some of the temporary ooring is shown. Fig. 3 is a section at A B of the construction shown in n Fig. A2, showing also some of the temporary flooring.

The temporary floor for receiving the first layer of concrete is indicated by the numeral 1. The forms or cores 2 are arch-shaped, hollow, and represented as constructed of wire and extend part way from beam 3 to beam 4 and arranged parallel to one another in a row. The lower surfaces or bases are shown flat and the upper portions arched. These forms 2 are completely surrounded by concrete, which presses tightly against the beams 3 and Il and is lat on the upper surface to form a floor or a foundation for any kind of flooring or anything that may be placed thereon. After the cement has hardened the temporary floor l' may be removed. I do not confine myself to any particular kind of concrete. A suitable kind consists of a mixture of sand or cinders, gravel, or finelycrushed stone and cement, and the same may be laid on with shovels handled by men standing on the temporary flooring l or upon the Ill-beams. For beams eight inches high the distance between the same may be about ,four or five feet apart. The result is a solid, single, and continuous mass of hardened concrete and steel without air joints or crevices for the action of air and dampness, and being a single mass the strength is very great.` For apartment-houses this feature is especially valuable, because the exclusion of air-cracks Fig. et is a perspective view of a form or core by itself.

IDO

serves to completely eut off noises of pianos and children, dm., from one ioor to another I have called the construction a floor; but it could be used also for Walls or partitions.

The concrete is preferably carried above the beams 3 and 4, so that the latter are completely buried in and protected from View and from sight.

The ends of the forms are provided with holding-blocks 6, to which the wire mesh 2 is fastened. There need be no base other than the lower edges of the Core or form.

My invention includes modifications. For example, the sides of the forms 2 may be extended downward into lthe ceiling,` to strengthen the same, as shown at 5.

I claiml. A reproof door for a building, Consistfor up- 3o 

